‘Paper Gun’ At School Prompts Suspension Of Philadelphia Girl

A Philadelphia fifth grader was suspended for having a paper gun at school. The little girl maintains she was chastised by staff and ridiculed by her peers. The child also claims that after the piece of paper that kind of resembled a gun was found, she was searched in front of the entire class. Critics who feel the teacher overreacted wonder if the educator was checking for paper bullets in the little girl’s pockets.

Melody Valentin was moved to tears when discussing the paper gun suspension during interviews. The Philadelphia fifth-grader attends Newlin Fell Elementary School. The child’s mother is still waiting on a response from the school over the matter, the New York Daily News notes.

Valentin had this to say during an interview with Fox 29 News:

“He [school official] yelled at me and said I shouldn’t have brought the gun to school and I kept telling him it was a paper gun, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Melody’s mom, Dianna Kelly, wants to know why a school official stood over her child and reportedly stated he should “call the cops” on her. The Newlin Fell Elementary School staffer also allegedly told the little girl she could be arrested.

The upset mother also noted that her daughter is having nightmares that the teacher is chasing her down the street. Melody has also been found in the bathroom crying during the early morning hours.

When detailing the harassment Melody Valentin stated she endured by her classmates, she noted she had been called a murderer. The somewhat gun-shaped paper had been made by her grandpa the day prior. When another student saw the folded piece of paper, he reportedly told school officials that Melody has a paper gun.

Do you think the school overreacted to the paper that resembled a gun?